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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Comfort Food Done Healthy

B’s surgery this week went very well, and he’s on the road to recovery. He’s handling it really well, but I know he’s still in some discomfort and tired of being stuck in the apartment. Being the (part) Italian that I am, I immediately turn to cooking for others in their time of need. Food is one of those things that people look to for comfort, and providing that for others is my way of consoling and (hopefully) helping those in need. Since B can’t be physically active for a while, I wanted to make him something comforting but still somewhat healthy. Lasagna is one of B’s favorite foods, so I decided to put a healthy spin on the old classic. What I came up with was turkey and vegetable lasagna rolls. Rather than layering sheet upon sheet of noodles and filling, I thought that rolling up the noodles and filling would make it easier to portion out and serve. I ended up with individual lasagnas instead of a big messy pan. To increase the health quotient, I replaced the classic ingredients with healthier versions and added lots of veggies. Read on for my recipe!

Lasagna Rollups

Makes 9 servings

9 whole-wheat lasagna noodles

1 c. diced onion

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

½ lb. ground turkey (93% lean)

1 c. fresh spinach

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

½ tsp. pepper

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. basil

½ tsp. oregano

4 tbsp. part skim ricotta cheese

1 jar marinara sauce

1 c. mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook noodles according to directions on box. Drain and lay out on foil so they don’t stick together. Chop the onions, peppers, and garlic, then sauté in olive oil (I usually add the garlic a minute or two later so it doesn’t burn).

When the veggies are soft, add the turkey and spices and brown. Put the spinach in a large bowl, add the cooked turkey/veggie mix and stir. Let cool for a few minutes before adding the ricotta and half of the mozzarella cheese.

Mix well, then spoon filling on each noodle, spreading down the length of the noodle, then roll. Put a layer of sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan, then add the lasagna rolls (seam down) and top with remaining sauce and mozzarella. Cover with foil, bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes.

Your pictures look great. For me, the hardest part of lasagna is getting the first piece out of the pan without everything collapsing. You're individual lasagna rolls eliminate this problem. Nice work!